Jelly Bean Thumbprint Cookies

This is another recipe I want to try at Christmas. It would be great to make at Easter too with the pastel jelly beans. You could also use other candies, like red and green M&Ms for Christmas. I thought it would be a fun recipe to do with the kids. However, you do need to do it over the course of 2 days because the dough has to be refrigerated for 8 hours. It's from Christmas With Southern Living 2007.

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 TBS. heavy whipping cream
assorted jelly beans
additional powdered sugar

Beat butter at medium speed with mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg yolks and vanilla, beating until blended.

Combine flour and salt; add to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Cover and chill dough 8 hours.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Press thumb into each cookie to make an indentation.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 13 minutes. Cool 1 minute on baking sheets; remove to wire racks. Make thumbprint indentations again while cookies are still warm; let cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine powdered sugar and heavy cream in a small bowl; stir with a fork until smooth. Spoon icing into a zip-top freezer bag; cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag and squirt a small amount of icing into indentation in each cookie. Press jelly beans into center of each cookie. Let set. Dust cookies with powdered sugar. Makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies.